


you're the one (my heart is beating for)

by myglassesaredirty



Category: Left Behind - Jerry B. Jenkins & Tim LaHaye, Left Behind: the Kids
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Sick Character, Sickfic, and i'm just waiting until it's my turn, and it's gonna come around again, i got the flu when my team played against ou, i wrote this because everyone at uni has the flu, my friend and name twin had a 102 degree fever and couldn't go to class
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:33:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22284898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myglassesaredirty/pseuds/myglassesaredirty
Summary: Vicki has twice had a flu so incapacitating that she should have gone to the hospital. The only problem is that, well, she kind of legally can't…go to a hospital.
Relationships: Judd Thompson Jr./Vicki Byrne
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	you're the one (my heart is beating for)

**Author's Note:**

> Happy friendiversary, Julie!!! Hope your day was as great as you are!!

“I’m dying.”

Judd chuckled softly to himself and dipped the washcloth into a bowl of cold water. Wringing it out, he said, “You’re not dying, you just have the flu.”

Vicki writhed on her bed and looked at him through bleary eyes. Her face flushed, and she pulled her covers up to her chin. “Sure feels like I’m dying.”

“You wouldn’t know dying of sickness if it punched you in the face.” He reached over and placed the washcloth on Vicki’s forehead, and she sighed in relief.

“Do you know my symptoms?”

“Hm.” Judd pursed his lips and reached for her hand. Maybe he’d get the flu in a few days, maybe he wouldn’t, it was really up to God at this point. “Fever, sore throat, runny nose, headache the size of Cleveland, nausea…” He smiled gently and touched his free hand to her cheek. “Am I missing anything else, love?”

Vicki reached for her tissue and rubbed her nose against it. “Nope, not that I can think of. Exhaustion and achiness, maybe.”

He nodded. “Well, Josey’s making soup for you. I’m right here, for now at least.”

Vicki twisted her lips. “I’ll get you sick.”

Five years ago, Vicki had said the same thing to him while down with a flu that was so bad Judd considered taking her to the hospital. Her fever often walked the line of 103 or 104, and though Judd knew it wasn’t a medical emergency  _ yet, _ he knew that she was dangerously close to getting there. Even with Bruce’s help and him breathing down his neck about taking Vicki to the hospital, Judd had resolved to keep her at home and ignore all sense of propriety if her fever exceeded 104.1. Luckily, he hadn’t had to give her an ice bath, but he had to give one to Ryan.

Five years ago, Judd hadn’t cared if he got the flu from taking care of Vicki. He still made the chicken soup, still pulled out the crackers, still pulled cans of Sprite from the refrigerator, and he still sat next to her and held her hair back while she threw up into the toilet. Lionel had helped where he could, but most of Lionel’s time had been spent taking care of Ryan and playing video games with him and letting him win.

Vicki shivered and tried to pull the blankets back up to her chin, but Judd caught the sheets and shook his head. “You need to let your fever come down,” he said.

“But I’m colddddd.”

“I know you’re cold.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I can’t do anything except give you a cold compress and keep your fever from getting too high. It’s not like any of us can walk out of here and pick up Tylenol from the store.”

She hmphed. “I’d really love some tylenol right about now.” Her fingers twisted in the hem of her shirt, and she coughed. “Do you want your shirt back when I’m better?”

He winced and reached for the glass of water by her nightstand. “Not really, if I’m going to be honest. I’d recommend…washing it or something. Get the germs out.”

Vicki lolled her head and pushed his hand away. “Where’s Darrion?”

“Darrion’s sleeping in Shelly’s cabin until you’re feeling better. Lionel, Mark, Tom, Josey, and I are making rounds with you.” Judd looked over his shoulder and stood, leaving the glass of water where Vicki could reach it.

When he opened the door, Lionel and Tom leaned against either side of the door frame. “Are we interrupting you two lovebirds?”

Judd glared and stepped aside. “I don’t know what you’re expecting, what with her being down with the flu and all, but no, Lionel, you aren’t interrupting.”

Lionel went on ahead and sat on Vicki’s bed, balancing the tray in his lap. While he unfolded the napkin and handed it to Vicki, Judd bit his lip. “Tom, any luck with finding Sprite or Tylenol?”

Tom shook his head and spread his hands. “Mark and Conrad just got back from a raid. They got nothing out of it, no soda, no Tylenol, no food. We’re trying, but we can’t risk it the same way. You understand.”

Judd sighed and pushed a hand through his hair. “I know, I know, it’s just frustrating that the only thing we can do is give her soup and a washcloth.”

“What the hell, Vick?”

Judd and Tom swiveled their heads to see Vicki stumble into the bathroom, and Judd swore under his breath, squeezing Lionel’s shoulder on his way to the bathroom. Tom knelt in front of Lionel and helped him dab at the spilled soup on his lap.

Vicki threw herself down before the toilet and gripped the edge of the seat, and Judd had just enough time to pull her hair back before the little soup she had taken came out of her system. Her arms trembled with each roll of her stomach, and she gasped whenever her stomach gave her a break. Her eyes fluttered closed, Tom came into the room with the glass of water, and when Vicki took a drink, she had just enough time to swallow it before she threw it back up.

Lionel leaned against the doorway. “Tell me you didn’t get her pregnant.”

Judd glared at him. “Are you fucking kidding me, Lionel?”

Tom hummed. “Language, you two.” He gently punched Lionel’s shoulder. “And you, don’t make any sex jokes until after they finally get married.”

Lionel held both hands up in surrender. “Sorry for asking if you two had slept together.”

Judd rolled his eyes. “Sorry to disappoint, but both of us are still five years sex-free. No baby yet, unless God chose Vicki to be another Mary.”

Vicki groaned. “Not while I’m throwing up, if you would please.”

Judd rubbed her back. “I’m sorry, babe. Do you want more water?”

“I want to stop throwing up.” She swallowed heavily and sat back on her heels. Judd twisted his lips and parted her hair into three, slowly braiding it. She hummed.

Lionel crossed his arms. “It was a valid question.”

“Might have been, doesn’t mean you should ask it.”

He didn’t usually dwell on what he had done in the days before the Rapture, but sometimes, when Lionel would joke like this – even though Judd truly knew that he was just joking and meant nothing by it – Judd would remember how he and Vicki, six years ago, would be at parties together and they would both be too intoxicated to see straight, yet they would crawl into bed together and worry about a pregnancy scare. Part of him wondered if Vicki had been pregnant with his child when the Rapture occurred, and the very thought of it, the very thought that he could have been a father but they might have lost the baby, kept him awake at night.

He hated himself, sometimes, especially when he thought too long about his past mistakes.

Lionel sighed and stepped into the bathroom, squeezing Judd’s shoulder. “Look, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t mean anything by it, and I’ll stop making those kinds of jokes.” He smirked. “Until you and Vicki are married, then those are on the table for the taking.”

Judd chuckled. “Get out and let me take care of her.”

Lionel ruffled Judd’s hair. “Alright, I’m going.”

Once Vicki’s stomach settled, Judd slipped one hand underneath her knees and carried her back to her bed. VIcki’s head lolled against his shoulder, and she bunched his shirt in her fingers. “Why are you doing this?”

He set her on her bed and pulled her sheets up to her chest. “I love you.”

She licked her lips. “That’s not a good reason.”

Judd chuckled lowly and braced his hands on either side of her. “Doesn’t make it any less of the reason why I’m doing this.”

Vicki lifted the corner of her lips into a smile and ran her fingers up his arm. Her touch barely brushed against his skin, and while that would normally cause a shiver to race up his spine before he pressed his lips to hers, her hand fell to her side. Instead, she turned her head and pressed a kiss to his hand.

Now, Judd had no idea what in the hell possessed him to say the next few words. He blamed spending two years in Israel without seeing her face.

“Marry me, Vick,” he whispered, his lips brushing over his forehead. “I love you more than I ever thought possible. Marry me.”

Vicki furrowed her eyebrows and pushed Judd far enough away to see his face clearly. “Are you getting sick now? Already? I didn’t think it worked that fast.”

Judd blinked. “Is that a no?”

She laughed in disbelief. “Are– you’re serious? You’re proposing to me  _ now, _ when I’m sick with the flu?” She laughed again and bit her lip. “Judd, I thought– I thought you were going to, I don’t know, wait until the fireflies came out and you would take me on a walk through the forest.”

He huffed out a laugh in relief. “To be honest, that was originally the plan, but God, Vick, I can’t tell you how much I love you. Even when you’re sick with the flu and even when you’re probably going to get me sick, too, I just…” He bit the inside of his cheek. “The idea of spending anymore time without you as my wife is just too much for me.”

Vicki reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “The main problem with you proposing while I’m sick with the flu is that I can’t kiss you when I say yes.”

Judd smirked and dipped his head. “Well, that’s just a risk I’m willing to take.”

**Author's Note:**

> Like it, love it, hate it? Leave a comment below or go to my tumblr, @ my-glasses-are-dirty, and tell me what you think!


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